Ate in a Nutshell

As I write this with one eye half open because I was kept from my precious slumber last night by an extremely (and literally) anal retentive boy, I see that such boy is wide awake and getting into all sorts of trouble. Which explains the cycle of negligence and destruction in my house. I was kept up by one little boy named Ate, I am now too tired to pay attention to what Ate is getting his grubby little fingers on, and I am sure I will suffer for it later when I notice some sort of destruction or undoing with Ate's name written all over it. And yet, this very active, rambunctious little boy can charm all the hugs, kisses and cheek pinching right out of me. My husband says he is a Mamma's boy, but I think it is because he is that "marshmallow" child I always wanted. My mom called my younger brother her marshmallow. He always smiled and he was a cuddler. I think a marshmallow baby is pretty much a child who does not suck all your life's energy right out of you. After the whole Ro escapade, a child like Ate was such a welcome surprise. (I LOVE YOU RO).

As I mentioned in previous posts, I make predictions about my child's personality while they are fetus in utero. Right away, I told my husband, after two girls we are having our boy. My husband said he felt the exact same way (of course, he REALLY wanted it to be a boy). I partly felt this way because everything about this pregnancy was different than the previous two. Although in general, I am not one who believes that pregnancies differ one from the next, just because of the babies potential gender. I don't really subscribe to all the "myths" that determine the babies gender, ie. if your face really changes and your nose looks like it spread, you must be having a girl. That just reminded me.... When I was pregnant with So and we were living in New Jersey, where getting gas is still full service and the local gas attendant becomes your best friend, Ibraham asked me for my license one day while my tank was filling. And why exactly does a gas attendant need to see my license. Well, he noticed I was pregnant and he wanted a picture of me pre-pregnancy for reference so he could determine if my face changed, and what gender I might therefore be carrying. He determined my face did NOT change and so I was having a boy. Well surprise surprise Ibraham, I had a girl.

With the girls I gained only 23 pounds each time, even when I delivered So at over nine pounds. Boys make you fat!!! I gained 45 pounds with Ate. I was carrying lower. I was pregnant everywhere and every part of me got bigger (except, oddly enough, "two" things which typically get bigger and this time did not). But bottom line, it was a boy because my gut told me it was a boy. My gut also told me he would be a physically strong boy, but with the sensitivities that make him genuinely caring and concerned for other people's welfare. He is the type of boy who can carry gallons of bottled water across the room, and when he drops one on your toe he will put his hand on your shoulder and cock his head towards you and say, "whatsa matter, you gotta boo boo, you need a ban ade, you need ice, you need a kiss"? I knew he would be a busy little bee, and probably have a passion for "engineering". He likes to take things apart, I mean things that are not meant to be taken apart, and he likes to see what sinks and what can "swim" in the toilet. I knew he would be full of life, always smiling and a cuddler, oh, and a genius. He takes in everything from his environment so well, including sounds and smells. He copies and repeats everything he hears and sees from his older sisters. If you pass gas in front of him, he WILL announce that he "smells gases" so be warned. He will be heard singing in his crib any song he has ever heard, including the theme song from the Brady Bunch. I knew he would have a tremendous sense of humor. If I sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to him, allowing him to fill in the last words from each stanza, such as star, are, high, sky... he will replace those words with the word cracker. Twinkle Twinkle little ....cracker, how I wonder what you .... cracker. I think he is the best of both of his sister's. He is a very verbal and vocal and social extrovert like So and like Ro, he notices and picks up on everything and has a genuine nurturing and caring attribute. The only "problem" he seems to have (also like Ro) is his extreme anal retentiveness. He just won't poop. Oh well, count your blessings, right.

Ate was born June 7, 2006. He was my only child to come before his due date, one day to be exact. I remember at the time there was all this talk about women being induced before June 6 so they wouldn't give birth on 6 - 6 - 06. I even remember one story of a woman who was in labor and tried her hardest to keep her legs together until 12:01 am June 7 because she did not want a 666 baby. I could care less. I would have a baby on 666 if it meant I could breathe again, and I hope to G-d I was delivering a 40 pound baby (what were those 45 pounds for anyway). Well he came on June 7, at eight pounds even (had I been overdue with him, he would have been well over nine pounds). My husband was the one to announce the gender, he was paying close attention for that appendage and when he saw it, he was sure to let the Dr. and myself know.

Ate has been a pretty easy baby. He eats well, sleeps well, plays well, interacts well, now if we could just take care of that pooping issue. He has never been attached to anything in particular (none of my kids had crutches). Although, his latest bit of cuteness involves the "object of the day", "object Du jour" if you will. It can be anything from a baby spoon to a hot wheels, or a paperclip. Whatever it is, he walks around with it nonchalantly as he goes about his day, takes it to school and takes it to bed (we have to veto certain objects for bed time, such as paper clips for obvious reasons). Either way, do NOT try to pry that object from his hand, ever.

If I knew I could have more babies like Ate, I would just keep on going. Ate is my cuddly, welfare concerning, toilet water obsessed, very charmingly boyish, obscure object carrying, marshmallowy bundle of love.